The U.S. renewable and sustainable industries yesterday collectively sighed with relief yesterday at the news that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head, Scott Pruitt, was resigning. Pruitt, a climate-change skeptic, was appointed by President Trump and while at the helm of the EPA, succeeded in removing many of the environmental regulations that were put in place under President Obama.

Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists had this to say about the resignation.
““It was clear from the beginning that Scott Pruitt had no interest in protecting public health and safety, and it’s unfortunate that he wasn’t dismissed until he became a clear political liability. Â

“While he clearly violated ethical standards and bilked taxpayers, he inflicted far worse injury on American children and families by abandoning science and the EPA’s public health and environmental mission. It’s time for the EPA to clean house.”

Kimmell said that the next EPA administrator should be “someone who will uphold independent science and commit wholeheartedly to the agency’s science-based mission of protecting public health and the environment.”

Dan Lashof, Director of the World Resources Institute, United States added that Pruitt’s time at the EPA “has been the worst in the history of the agency.”

He said that under Pruitt’s direction, the EPA had undermined “a wide range of vital protections for people and the environment—and the very mission of the EPA itself” and that “Pruitt led a crusade to undercut the critical role of science and transparency in policymaking.”

Andrew Wheeler was named acting Chief of the EPA while Trump considers his next appointee. Learn more about how he views the energy industry in the article below. Â
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